Motorists could be breathalysed to check if they have had enough sleep

DRIVERS and pilots could be “breathalysed” for drowsiness in future after scientists developed a blood test that identifies bio-markers for sleep deprivation.

The research could help police identify drivers in road crashes who are suspected of falling asleep at the wheel or driving while over-tired.

It could also assist employers in assessing fitness for duty, such as in the aviation sector or road haulage industry. Previous research in this area from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has shown that drivers who get just one to two hours less than the recommended daily allowance in a 24-hour period nearly double their risk of a car crash.

The test has been developed at the University of Surrey’s Sleep Research Centre, where 36 participants were asked to skip one night of sleep.

During this 40-hour period of sleep deprivation, blood samples were taken and changes in the expression levels of thousands of genes were measured.

A machine learning algorithm identified a subset of 68 genes and, with 92 per cent accuracy, could detect whether a sample was from a sleep-deprived or wellrested individual.

Dr Emma Laing, Senior Lecturer in Bio-informatics at the University of Surrey, said: “We all know that insufficient sleep poses a significant risk to our physical and mental health, particularly over a period of time.

“However, it is difficult to independently assess how much sleep a person has had, making it difficult for the police to know if drivers were fit to drive, or for employers to know if staff are fit for work.”